“You just sliced me open!”
“I had no choice, and besides, I’m about to patch you up.” She brandished a jar containing thick green paste, the same concoction she’d used on me when I’d arrived at Nairsgarth. It had worked wonders.
Grudgingly, I allowed her to pour water into the wound, and smother it in paste, while I winced and ground my teeth, all the while trying not to look at the hulking cave. The pain eased beneath the cool poultice, and Sage wound a bandage around my hand. Her work wasn’t as neat as it had been the first time, but it was done quickly.
Too quickly, in fact.
No sooner had she shouldered her pack once more than she marched me to the cave mouth. With a mutter and a click of her fingers, a little flame appeared in her hand. It wasn’t much against the dense darkness awaiting us, but it was better than nothing. To my relief, she went ahead of me, picking up speed as she aimed for the narrow crack.
With a small oof noise, Sage collided with the darkness, bouncing off and stumbling backwards into my chest. Unthinkingly, I caught her, receiving a stab of pain in my hand as a reward.
“What happened?” I couldn’t quite keep the hope from my voice. If we couldn’t go any further, we’d have no choice but to give up.
Sage didn’t answer. She shoved away from me, marching to the cave. She bounced back as though an invisible door protected the area, but she recovered her feet, trying again. Whatever was blocking her held firm. With a scream of rage, Sage whacked her fists against it. Where they should have arced through the air, they slammed to a stop.
The witch turned, seeking out her fellows, her shoulders heaving with every breath. “You try.”
Hyacinth hurried forward, slowing as she neared the waiting hole. She lifted a hand, holding it before her. Her wrist bent back as her palm met something unyielding.
One by one, my companions attempted to enter the cave. All failed.
Sage turned to me, raising a questioning eyebrow.
Erm, no. Absolutely not.
Except, my feet moved, carrying me forward against my will. I didn’t want to go in there, did I? Especially when Sage couldn’t lead the way. No, definitely not. I much preferred the idea of staying in the sunshine, surrounded by my protectors, and yet there I was, strolling toward the cave mouth. I hesitated on the lip of the shadows. If I could go through, what did that mean for me? Did I go on alone? It wasn’t too late to turn back. I could still run. I could become another failure in Neath’s history.
Failure.
The word sat uneasily on my shoulders. I didn’t know how to fail. I’d strived and worked for everything I had. Could this be the day I gave up without a fight?
With a deep breath, I took a careful step. My boot landed in darkness. Another step, and another. From the shade of the cave, I turned to face my party, my legs numb. They couldn’t follow me.
I was alone.
Worried faces stared back. Pansy drifted forward, though she made no attempt to join me.
“Come back, Aliza,” Sage said, her voice brisk and level once more.
As glad as I was to oblige, something, some strange, new awareness, grated over my skin as I emerged into the light. Something that clawed at me, trying to hold me back. I shrugged it off, rejoining the witches.
“You go on alone from here,” Sage said, as though giving instructions on how to fold a bedsheet. “It seems we have taken you as far as we can.”
I barked a single, flat note of laughter. She was joking, right? She couldn’t possibly expect me to continue alone and live to tell the tale.
“Here.” Sage fished something out of her pocket and pressed it into my uninjured hand. She cupped my upturned hand in hers, and I caught a glimpse of a white crystal before her palm laid flat over it. Her eyes slipped shut and she muttered a strange word under her breath.
Something spread over my skin, cool and hard, like a wafer-thin layer of ice. It moulded to my form, following every curve and contour of my body, then faded into nothing.
“What was that?”
“A protection spell.” Sage raised her pale eyebrow, sliding the crystal back into her pocket. “It won’t prevent major injury, but consider it a layer of armour against minor blows. Honestly, girl. When we get back you need to attend some lessons.”
Major injury? My knees trembled, but before I could think of an argument for giving up this insane plan, another witch, Hazel, placed another rock in my hand. I was sick of rocks. I never wanted to see one again as long as I lived, starting right now.
Another strange word, another strange sensation. Tiny, champagne-like bubbles popped over me, starting at the crown of my head and cascading down to my toes. My body shivered involuntarily, though the sensation wasn’t completely horrible.
“Luck.” Hazel smiled shyly up at me, averting her blue eyes. “It will guide your choices.”
I’d need more than luck.
Hyacinth came next, holding a small, glass lantern containing a tiny crystal. With a click of her fingers, a flame curled to life, engulfing the rock. Most unusually, she didn’t smile as she handed it to me. Instead, she gave me a look Mum might have given if faced with the prospect of sending me to my death. “To light your way,” she said softly.
Pansy came last, tears wobbling at her lower eyelids. “You have your daggers? And the necklace?” Her voice wavered. I nodded, and she sniffed before launching herself at me. I hugged her gingerly back, careful not to set her on fire, or snag my bandages. When she broke away, her cheeks glistened.
“It’s going to be fine,” she insisted, though I didn’t know who she hoped to fool. “Just be careful, alright? We’ll be waiting for you.”
How could I promise to be careful when I didn’t have the faintest idea what lurked in the darkness. Shades? Spiders? Maelgwyn himself?
“What if I find them?” I croaked. “How do I break the curse?”
Sage’s green eyes swept over me, and she gave my dagger belt an experimental tug. When it held firm, she lifted her gaze. “Trust yourself, Aliza. You are the Human Queen. I wasn’t sure at first, but you are, beyond all doubt. You will know what to do, but be on your guard. You will not necessarily be able to rely on your senses beyond this gate. You must use your brain. Question everything you might see or hear. Trust nothing. The fae are notorious tricksters, and Maelgwyn is the worst of them. We’ll wait until the moon sets on the second night,” Sage said. “Be back by then, Aliza.”
Shaking from head to toe, I nodded and walked into the darkness alone.
16But Wait, It Gets Worse
Black pressed in from every side, threatening to obliterate my lantern’s wavering puddle of light. In a matter of steps, the last traces of sunshine, the last whisper of birdsong and rustling leaves, faded into nothing. There was only me and my ratcheting heartbeat. My scuffing, tentative footsteps. My uneven breath. Blood hissed inside my head like I’d pressed a seashell to my ear.
